There's not really a perfect forum for this, but it's specifically a concern for women, so I thought I'd post it here. I've met a woman who refuses to get into an Uber if the driver is male.
Uber Cleared Violent Felons to Drive. Passengers Accused Them of Rape.
The ride-hailing giant’s background check process was intended to speed drivers onto its network while keeping costs down, internal documents show.
By Emily Steel
Uber says its background checks are essential for keeping passengers safe, promising that all of its drivers have passed a screening for violent crimes.
The claim, made in marketing materials, ignores a critical detail: The system approves people with many types of criminal convictions, including violent felonies. That is because Uber has limited the criteria used to vet potential drivers, part of a push to speed them onto the ride-hailing network while keeping costs down, a New York Times investigation found.
Uber rejects prospective drivers who have been convicted of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and terrorism. But in 22 states, The Times found, the company approves people convicted of most other crimes — including child abuse, assault and stalking — so long as the convictions are at least seven years old...
One brainstorming document listed nearly two dozen safety measures the company could adopt. In-person interviews were deemed logistically challenging, the document shows. Fingerprint checks were considered costly and time intensive.
Women who reported being sexually assaulted during Uber rides said that the company’s vetting practices put them in harm’s way, accusations reflected in lawsuits and other court records reviewed by The Times.
In 2020, an Uber driver in San Diego was accused of using his fingers to forcibly penetrate a passenger’s vagina, then choking her and throwing her phone out the window when she tried to fight back. The driver’s record included felony convictions for assault with a deadly weapon in 2002 and 2006. Earlier in 2020, he had been arrested after an allegation of rape but not yet charged. Arrests alone are not disqualifying in Uber’s background checks.
The next year, an Uber driver in Tampa, Fla., was accused of raping a passenger who had been out celebrating her 21st birthday. The driver had eight felony convictions, including for robbery with a firearm in 2002, as well as more than a dozen driving violations.
And in the years since, drivers with convictions for assault, child abuse, armed robbery and other crimes have been accused of sexually assaulting passengers across the country, The Times found.
The incidents are part of a scourge of sexual violence during Uber rides. The ride-hailing giant received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States almost every eight minutes on average from 2017 to 2024, according to internal data revealed in litigation, far more than what the company has publicly disclosed.
For the whole article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/business/uber-background-checks-sexual-assault.html
https://page3newsthai.com/uber-cleared-violent-felons-to-drive-passengers-accused-them-of-rape/